From as early as 6 months baby can learn basic sign language to tell their parents and care givers some of their basic needs. By helping your child communicate basic needs both your child and parents will be less frustrated. This will minimise meltdowns and tantrums.
Some basic Auslan signs for babies include:
Drink (make hand into a cup and move towards mouth as though drinking)
Milk (act like drinking a cow – move hands up and down)
Sleep (two hands next to your head, and lean your head to the side)
More (hand like its holding a cup moves from chest out)
Finished (two hands in front of you with thumbs up, wrists twist up and down)
Signs vary from country to country. Although any variation will work. This is about finding communication between your child and you, so if your signs are made up within your family that will still work well.
Our community talk about baby sign language
Our community talk about baby sign languagePeople that use baby sign language, what age did you start teaching your baby to sign?
- I started doing baby sign language when my kids were about 10 months. It’s amazing how quickly they pick things up like eat and drink.
- Use signs from birth! Proven to help prevent tantrums from lack of communication skills. Also recommend using auslan signs, so your child has a life skill. All signs available for free on signbank. Google it. Videos of all signs!!
- From birth, its been shown that babies understand alot more than they can verbalise but they can do signs from a very young age, its great for their communication skills, we use/d the sign for nappy, more, food, drink and bath. oh and sleep lol
- I started teaching my little girl baby sign language at 10 months and she started signing back at around 11 months, it was wonderful by the time she was 16 months old she knew over 50 we different signs, she loved it and made my life alot easier. I used the baby hand, my baby can talk system. She would enjoys watching to at least twice a day. Good luck 🙂
- My son has sensory processing disorder. He’s 2.5 and has no words. We started sign language 6 weeks ago and he already has 15 words 🙂 it has helped with his frustration over not being able to communicate.
- My little girl is 6 mths and we’ve been doing baby sign for about 3 weeks. She has been signing bottle (milk) when I do it she copies & has just in the last day started to sign “more”
Did you use baby sign language? Was it beneficial or did it affect their motivation to talk?
